Feb. 9, 2017
Bag Policy - Parking
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 14 Penn State men's volleyball is set to square off against NJIT (4-4) Friday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. ET, before taking on Princeton (2-5) Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. ET. Fans can catch a live video stream of the matchup against NJIT on ESPN3 while the match against Princeton will be streamed on the Ivy League Network. Live stats will be provided as well.
PENN STATE vs. NJIT
In their last match up on April 2, 2016 Penn State swept the Highlanders 3-0 in Newark, N.J.
NJIT's Jabarry Goodridge notched a match-best 17 kills, leading the Highlanders to a 3-0 sweep at Rutgers-Newark last week in non-conference action at the Golden Dome.
NJIT snapped a two-match skid, improving to .500 (4-4) with the straight set win.
Goodridge leads the Highlanders with 126 kills averaging 4.34 per set while hitting at a .315 clip.
Ricardo Whitaker leads NJIT with 247 assist averaging 9.15 per set.
PENN STATE vs. PRINCETON
In their last matchup, Penn State grabbed 3-1 win over the Tigers in Princeton on Apr. 1, 2016.
Junior Kendall Ratter is hitting .339 on the young season, just outside the EIVA Top 10 with 2.8 kills per set.
Junior Oboh leads the Tiger defensive presence at the net; currently ranked fifth in the EIVA with .87 blocks per set this season.
Freshman middle George Huhmann had 24 total kills in his first five matches and has recorded 24 total in his last two, including a season-high 13 at Concordia.
Both freshman outsides Parker Dixon and Greg Luck have posted multiple double-digit kill efforts in the young 2017 season.
PENN STATE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Penn State is currently ranked in the top-25 in five different team categories including top-10 rankings in Digs Per Set - 9.00 (9th) and Assists Per Set - 11.87 (10th).
Individually, Chris Nugent is ranked 21st in the nation in Points Per Set (4.07) and 16th in the nation in Kills Per Set (3.68), while Kevin Gear is 24th in the nation in Blocks Per Set averaging 0.94.
Luke Braswell is eighth in the nation in Assists Per Set averaging 10.50 and Royce Clemens is ranked fifth in the nation in Digs Per Set averaging 2.63 per set. The Nittany Lions are very balanced as the only team to rank in the top-three of the EIVA in kills, digs and blocks as a team.
NITTANY LIONS 14th IN LATEST AVCA POLL
Penn State (6-4) is fresh off a week of volleyball that featured a Penn State sweep against 2016 EIVA tournament finalist Saint Francis (Pa.) at home Friday night.
Defending national champions Ohio State remained the number one team in the nation receiving all 24 first-place votes, followed by Long Beach State at No. 2, BYU at No. 3, UCLA at No. 4 and Hawai'i rounding out the top-five.
PAVLIK KNOWS HOW TO WIN
In his 23rd year at the helm of the program, head coach Mark Pavlik has amassed over 500 wins. Pavlik currently stands at 528-166 for his career.
FRESH FACES ON THE COURT IN 2017
The defending EIVA regular season champion men's volleyball team returns a core group of eight letter winners and four starters this year, while welcoming five freshmen to the roster.
The new additions include 6-10 MB/OH Cameron Bartus from West Seneca, N.Y., Declan Pierce, a 5-10 Libero from Buffalo, N.Y., Kyle Mackiewicz, a 6-8 OPP/MH from Edison, N.J., Bobby Wilden, a 6-8 OH/MH from Ashburn, Va. and Nathan Smith, a 6-5 setter from Los Altos, Calif.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Nittany Lions hit the road for a Valentines Day matchup against Saint Francis (Pa.) Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. in Loretto, Pa.